National Birth Justice Fellowship
The First National Birth Justice Fellowship Cohort
Vital Village Networks is excited to introduce the eleven local changemakers that have been selected to participate in the first year of the National Birth Justice Fellowship Program.
Joyell Arvella
Wombs of Wata
Baltimore, MD
Cecile Edwards
New Jersey Birth Equity Funders Alliance
Somerset, NJ
Elena Ferguson
Positive Women’s Network-USA
Houston, TX
Shenell Ford
Heart2Heartbeat Lactation & Wellness
Springfield, MA
Lina Garcia
Luna Tierra Casa de Partos
El Paso, TX
Kanika Harris
The National Association to Advance Black Birth
Washington DC
Zainab Jah
The Praxis Project
Silver Spring, MD
Tayla Kelly
YS Doula Services
Tulsa, OK
Sequoia Kemp
Doula 4 a Queen
Syracuse, NY
Tamara Robertson
Mind Body Birth Wellness and Birthing Center
Los Angeles, CA
Carson Rose Zeigler
Poppies in Paradise
Billings, MT
About The Fellowship
The National Birth Justice Fellowship is a leadership program dedicated to advancing community-led efforts that promote birth equity and justice. This 18-month fellowship is designed for local changemakers who are actively engaged in initiatives aimed at eliminating health inequities and injustices experienced by birthing families. The fellowship fosters culturally affirming, community-led solutions that reshape systems of health, education, and care, centering the dignity of all birthing families.
The fellowship has two primary goals: first, for each participant to make significant progress on a key birth justice project through tailored support and by applying the skills and insights gained throughout the program; and second, for fellows to work collaboratively to co-create a resource that will advance the birth justice field as a whole.
This fellowship is suited for community changemakers who are:
- Committed to advancing community power to address birth equity.
- Engaged in strong, existing partnerships supporting birth justice initiatives.
- Experienced in birth justice work or service focused on addressing structural and social injustices affecting historically marginalized populations (BIPOC, immigrant, LGBTQ+ communities, and people with disabilities).
- Eager to learn new approaches and explore frameworks that foster sustainable, collective action for birth justice.
- Ready to engage deeply in an intensive fellowship to advance a key birth justice project they are leading and collaborate with peers to co-create a resource for the field.
National Advisory Committee
The design of this fellowship program has been stewarded by advisors from across the nation, who bring diverse perspectives and deep expertise in birth equity, community advocacy, narrative change, participatory research, and health justice:
- Ndidiamaka Amutah-Onukagha, Tufts University Center for Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice
- Michelle Browder, Mothers of Gynecology
- Femeika Elliott, The Lotus Program and Knoxville Black Maternal Health
- Raena Granberry, California Black Women’s Health Project
- Oluwatosin Goje, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University Women's Health Institute
- Alisha Julien-Reid, National Council of Indigenous Midwives
- Priya Iyer, Our Roots
- Sheela Maru, Mount Sinai, NYC Health and Hospitals-Elmhurst, HoPE Doula Program
- Ayesha McAdams-Mahmoud, Storied Light Consulting, Salesforce
- Rose Molina, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Ariadne Labs
- April Wallace, American Heart Association-Voices for Healthy Kids
- Jessica Houseman-Whitehawk, Ttawaxt Birth Justice Center
Stay Connected
Sign-up for email communications to receive regular updates regarding the fellowship program and adjacent opportunities.
Contact Information
Please contact us at birthingjustice@bmc.org with any questions.
This fellowship is supported by a grant from The Wagner Foundation